Into the Deep Blue Sea
by The Eternal Empress
Summary: Nico always had issues. Bianca was the only person who he could open them to. But when she died, he is unable to resolve them. Now, with a new life in Goode High school, Nico's life turns to the worst as deals with hostility, his fears, his issues and Bianca's death. And in the brink of madness, Percy might be the only one who could save him or end him. Percy/Nico.
1. Prolouge

**Yo! Eternal Empress, here. This is actually my very first PJandO fanfic, so please be nice. I'm not expecting to have perfect grammar, but I checked it like 3 times. It's either I am not studying English very well (English is not my native tongue, you see) or successful. **

**Anyways, just want to saw this is just a prologue. So, this chapter discusses some issues Nico's facing. If you are able to decipher the symbolisms, then you'll find that Nico's issues are not just one, but many more. So, this is the only spoiler I'm giving you, and you're on your own :))  
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians in any way. This story was inspired by Hitome - chan's story: Seasons Change  
**

* * *

Nico didn't want to open his eyes, at least, not yet.

He laid still on his bed, letting his body bask on the sunlight that entered his dim-lighted room. White sticky specks on his eyelashes kept his eyelids closed, but one flicker of his eyes and the specks would be ripped off. He just wanted to lie there still while hearing his heart beating, feeling his chest rising up and down, sensing himself breathing. He would wait until he was asleep once again, then wake up, and then sleep again. But, it didn't work that way. His stomach was against it. It made a hungry, grumbling noise. Nico groaned, but didn't move.

He opened his eyes. The white specks fluttered and ripped apart. Nico rubbed his eyes and realized that those white specks were morning stars. He quickly grabbed a roll of tissue sitting beside his head and wiped the dirt of his finger. Then, he ripped the soiled part of the tissue, crumpled it and tossed it in the garbage can, just a few feet away from the bed. He missed.

A soft knock rings throughout the room. Nico glances at the door. He didn't keep it locked, but he knew she wouldn't enter without permission. She says she just follows proper manners and all of that crap, but in reality, she wants to be permitted to enter in his room, to enter into a private conversation with his brother that is sealed behind these walls, to listen to her brother's needs and problems that only she could hear him speak about it inside this room. Those who were permitted to enter Nico di Angelo's room are those whom he certainly trusts with his life, but only one had made it so.

Bianca di Angelo. His sister.

He hopes it was her behind that door. He hopes she was ready to listen to his tales and problems without further delay. He hopes she was just there, waiting for him to open the door.

"Sweetie?" But his hopes were denied. It was his mother, Maria di Angelo, fetching him for breakfast. "Are you okay?" she asks. But she knew the answer. She knew too well.

Nico inhales for a moment, before he answers "Yeah, I'm fine"

His mother waits for a follow-up reply, but Nico gave her silence. He hears her sigh before she left. Her heavy footstep echoed in the hallways, the sound getting weaker and weaker until it was silent again. And then he was alone.

"_You can't always sulk, Nico. There are finer things in life you have to enjoy –you just have to find them!" _Bianca always said with her sweet and soothing voice. He could almost hear Bianca's voice whispering in his ear, Bianca's floral perfume that irritated his nose, Bianca's presence that gave warmth to the room. _Almost,_ Nico reminds himself, _almost. She's too busy dealing with you._

With that depressing thought, he got up from bed and headed towards his own personal bathroom. He splashed his face with the cold water from the faucet, before he headed downstairs for breakfast.

**OOOOooooOOOO**

He left abruptly.

After he ate, showered and dressed, he immediately grabbed his bag and raced to meet the school bus, which was going to park to the designated sidewalk to fetch him. It was dangerous and stupid –even for him- to catch a moving bus. Nonetheless, he didn't get hurt, just earned a bewildered look from the bus driver. But, the driver didn't really say anything about it.

Nico glanced at the teens. Some were whisperings gossips to their friends; others were quiet and ignored his presence. His friends –who sat at the very end of the bus –looked at him with concern. They never approached him to comfort him –they knew Nico would just push them away if they did. They just let the boy come to them. Nico approached them and slung on the empty seat between Leo Valdez and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Leo was trying his best to smile, but he couldn't make a straight face. The usual super-ADHD kid who fumbled with gears and metals sat quietly and still. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the most normal in their circle of friends and his _frienemy_, kept closing and opening her mouth but found no words to say. Usually, the red-haired girl would have this smug look on her face and starts another _friendly argument/debate_ in the bus until Michael Yew arrives and tells them to shut up, but this time, she is unable to speak another word.

Leo Valdez is Nico's best friend in Wilderness school. He's the first ever boy to start a conversation with him. He's actually an ADHD kid with dyslexia –like Nico and everyone else- but he's too ADHD and he can't sit or stand still without fussing something on his hands. Leo's the _joker_ of their circle of friends and if he's actually quiet in a conversation, that's when something is definitely wrong –like now.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare is Nico's _frienemy_ due to always debating on simple and complex matters (which causes Leo's ears to bleed, figuratively) and at the same time, looking out for each other. Rachel is one of the few kids who doesn't have ADHD and dyslexia, but attends the Wilderness school because she has this rebellious and wild attitude. Rachel is quite popular, with her perfect red hair and sparkling green eyes, but she chose to hang out with Nico.

Michael Yew is another of Nico's friends, but hides it. He's a bully-repellant (long story), a snob, cranky and short, but he has a soft spot for Rachel. Like Leo and Nico, he has ADHD and dyslexia, but he is extremely talented in archery and basketball, despite his small build and tendency to be distracted by colorful things. Michael maybe a little hot-tempered, but he seriously cares for his friends. A lot.

After a long minute of silence between Nico and Rachel, Leo broke the ice.

"You look…dashing today" Leo whispered, sarcasm present. Nico looked at himself and let out a small and faint chuckle.

Nico always dressed gothic –well not gothic, but he just likes black. Today, he was dressed in a black t-shirt with a skull print, an aviator's jacket, baggy and torn jeans and black sneakers. His hair, which is always a mess but still looked fine, was messier than usual –and didn't look good. His dark brown eyes were bloodshot, but they were unnoticed because of the dark rims below on his eyes. His bag was carelessly slung on his shoulder with the zippers opened.

"Sorry" Rachel suddenly blurted out. Her green orbs were glassy as tears started leaking. She bit her pink lips and clenched her fists around her sling bag. Nico noticed that her hair isn't clipped with her green clip; instead, loose red hair strands covered her face. She only wore a gray wool shirt, wrinkled blue jeans and mismatched sneakers –one red and one blue. She looked more of a wreck than Nico. "Sorry" she sobbed quietly. Leo looked away.

Nico didn't know what to say, in fact, he didn't know who to blame. Why were they crying? Did they commit a crime or an act against him? They were being too secretive, being too emotional, being too guilty when Nico didn't find anything wrong or to say sorry about. They're just being stupid. This is getting stupid.

The dark-haired boy shook his head before he patted Rachel's shoulder. He glanced at Leo, whose eyes are leaking with tears as well.

"Get a hold of yourself Leo, Rachel" Nico whispered "Please."

Then Michael Yew stepped in the bus. He approached the tear-eyed girl before he glanced at Nico with a sympathetic look on his face. He then enveloped Rachel in a warm embrace.

And the trip to school was silent after that.

* * *

The Wilderness School is located somewhere in Nevada. Being half-Italian and half-American, Nico di Angelo really didn't care much of the names of locations and places. As long as he knows where this is and that, all is well. The Wilderness school is a beautiful educational facility for troubled kids. Either born with abnormalities or just plain _troubled_. As mentioned before, Nico has ADHD and dyslexia. Because of that, he really doesn't fit in in other schools. But thankfully, he _belonged_ in the Wilderness School.

Bianca di Angelo goes to a fancy school called Goode High school in New York. Unlike Nico, she's normal in every possible way. Not only that, She's very popular too –student council president of her school and all of that. Plus, she's talented with photography, which Nico's parents very much approve. His mother likes to paint scenery and uses Bianca's pictures as her model. his father likes to view beautiful scenery and see the models Bianca uses in her photos to inspire him in his novel –he's a novel writer by the way. She lives in a dorm with her classmates, but actually, she crashes in her boyfriend's place for once in a while. Nico always assured her that their parents didn't know, and she assured him that she won't be giving her virginity to anyone.

"This is your final summer class" he heard Ms. Dodds, his math teacher, say "Be sure to empty your lockers and submit everything to the respective teachers. Those who are interested in continuing in their respective art and literature workshops may sign at the verification form posted at the school bulletin board."

His classmates started talking and whispering. Only few more minutes until summer class was officially over. Tomorrow is the start of another school year. Nico smiled. He just realized that he spend his whole summer going into summer classes because he kept failing his grades. ADHD and dyslexia wasn't really helping him excel.

He drew a doodle in his notebook as Ms. Dodds started talking about how our lessons in summer class will help us excel next year, blah blah blah. If you're a kid of ADHD and dyslexia, you know that apart of these lessons, you need miracles to survive school.

Nico glanced at the teacher, then to the students, then to the pictures posted on the walls. Those were his photos. He actually started going to photography workshops when Bianca insisted him to try photography. He was horrible at first, but due to the workshops and Bianca's lecture, he started to become pretty good at it. But, looking at these photos of buildings, animals and humans, they looked pathetic, worn-out, and ugly for some reason. He felt a need to remove them –it was distracting him. He stood up from his seat, earning a few bewildered looks from his classmates and started ripping the photos pasted on the walls

"Honey, " Ms. Dodds started "What're you doing?"

Nico ignored her. He took all of the photos and threw them out of the window.

"Honey" Ms. Dodds repeated again "What're you doing?"

Nico looked back at the math teacher and said "The photos didn't look pretty anymore. It's best to throw them out."

The dark-haired boy left the classroom after that.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

Nico immediately went home after school. When he arrived, he saw his mother and his father seated next to each other, holding hands. They had grim looks on their faces.

"Nico," his father started "I…"

His father's name is Hades. Hades di Angelo. A pure-blooded Italian who can speak numerous languages. He likes to write novels –dark-themed novels about tragedy of love and teaching teens that 'whenever you fail in love, family is what you've got'. He earned some awards, but he is still knows as a _'heartbreaker writer'_ because of his tragic novels. Hades met Maria Vargas, his half-American, half-Italian mother, when they were starting going into the writing business in New York. She was his assistant and she loved Hades' works. Soon they fell in love. After so many years of dating and overcoming many challenges, they got married, had two great kids and had the hardest loss of a lifetime.

"Dad" Nico started "Is there something wrong?"

His mother choked a sob. Nico glimpse of a tear sliding down Hades' cheek. "Nico…pack your belongings, we're going to New York tomorrow morning"

Nico was stunned, but was too tired to argue. Why was he leaving? Why are they doing this? Where is Bianca when he needed her the most? Why is she too busy to deal with him? Why isn't she talking to him? Tears started to fall as he ran upstairs, towards Bianca's bedroom. He started banging the door, calling Bianca's name and asking permissions to enter her room. He didn't receive a reply.

He heard his mother wail and scream and sob, but it didn't matter anything to him. He wanted to talk to Bianca.

Hades climbed upstairs and tried to pull his son away from Bianca's door, but Nico had an iron-grip on the door knob. He twisted and turned into different directions until Nico manages to unlock the door. He smiled as he pushed the door open, ready to embrace Bianca, ready to be with his loving sister. But instead, he saw no one. Nico crept closer to Bianca's bed and found it oddly cold. The picture frames were covered with dust. Her orange curtains were smeared with dirt and Nico knew she would immediately wash her curtains if she found single dirt on it. But she let her dirty curtains cover her windows. This was uncharacteristic of her.

"Son" Hades began. He was crying silently. He stood at the doorway, unable to enter Bianca's room.

Then it finally hit Nico.

Bianca is dead. She's long-gone. She's dead for three weeks already.

* * *

Tomorrow morning, Nico di Angelo packed all his belongings and went to New York.

He forgot to say good-bye to his friends.

* * *

**This is shortest chapter that I've ever written, but as I've said before, this is prologue. It's up to you to figure out the symbolisms in this chapter. I think it's obvious, but what the heck.  
**

**Anyway, please review :))**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yo guys! It's been a while. This chapter is longer, full of symbolisms and hints on what will happen in the future, but this chapter solely focused on the elaboration of Nico's mental stability with a dash of Bianca's haunting wisdom words that gave insight of what happened to her. I am sorry I couldn't describe New York City correctly because I haven't been overseas. Although, thank you for the reviews and support :)**

**X Son of Hades X: **I love Dark stories too :)) Though, I couldn't say if Nico is going crazy or just in denial. And Percy will play a role in Nico's fate~ For the good or for the worse~ Either way, it's going to happen soon :))

**Optimus Prime Addict:** Thank you :)) Sorry for making you cry as well XD

**kiss my quiver**: Thank you :))

**Amanda Daughter of Hades: **Thank you :))

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or the Heroes of Olympus series. Sorry for the bad grammar, I am not a English-native speaker, though I am working on it. **

* * *

When his father told Nico they would ride into a plane –not that he didn't know, his father just reminded him, Nico wanted to run off into Neverland or something.

He didn't like planes. Aside from the possibility of machine malfunctions, pilot faults and the fact that Nico's a little queasy in heights, he didn't like the way he was cramped in a soaring vehicle about a hundred feet from the ground. But, that isn't really his problem right now. Suddenly forgetting and ignoring the remaining goodness left for him in this pathetic world, ignoring the painful truth of his sister's passing, and pretending that this world never had fucked his life for the worse, left him shattered and broken in the pits of despair, with no one to save him from that darkness only to have the cycle repeated again and again –that's his problem.

Wow. Not that he already have enough problems to deal with.

Sitting on the comfortable airline seat trying not to gaze at the sights on his window, with his father sleeping and no mother to tend him (because they left her in Nevada to look after their house), he was left all alone with a bunch of people who have their own personal business in New York. He really hated it, to be with strangers in one place –hated, despised, or loathed it, Bianca calls it _'afraid'_. When they were just kids, Nico always complained how many people were cramped in this airplane, constantly kicking the front seat until he passed out of exhaustion. Even his father and mother couldn't stop Nico from his outrageous attitude, only Bianca can. He remembers how Bianca would pull the boy onto her chest while brushing her fingertips on Nico's spine, saying: _You don't have to be afraid, Nico. I understand you. You're afraid with these strangers in this tiny room. You're afraid they'll harm you. Don't worry; I won't let them harm you._ That's when Nico found out he was a little bit agoraphobic, or fear of crowds. It was another problem toppled with his ADHD and dyslexia and many more.

Nico shakes his head off of the memory. No, he wasn't going to drift into ignorance; he shouldn't convince himself that Bianca is alive, waiting for him and his dad in New York where they'll spend the day shopping and eating and sightseeing until one of them collapses out of sheer tiredness. He shouldn't convince himself that Bianca is next to him, whispering comforting words until he calms down in the plane. He shouldn't convince himself that Bianca is alive, breathing and smiling. It would only drive him crazy.

_Sometimes, you should let go, Nico. Just let go and let yourself drift into wherever you wish to be._ He hears Bianca say as she started taking pictures of birds preparing to fly off, perching onto branches and flapping their wings until they have caught on the wind and soared through the skies.

No. Just no. Nico reminded himself, gripping the handle bars placed on both sides of his seat.

_See those birds Nico? Look how they're flying; look on how they're so free. Do you know why they're like that? It's because they let their instinct carry on_. Bianca said as she stopped taking shots as she looked onto the photos she took in the gallery section of her digital camera.

She's not here. She's not real. Nico reminded himself, biting his lower lip. He could feel himself slipping.

_I really love how they're so free. That's why I want to take their pictures. But when I look back at these photos, they're so still, so lifeless, so…'captured'. It's as if they're frozen in time, and never will move on. Sad isn't it? _Bianca said with her camera at hand, smiling cheerfully at Nico.

"God, make it stop!" Nico let out a hushed whisper, barely heard by anyone in the plane. His hands moved onto his head where he gripped his hair tightly, trying to mask Bianca's voice with his own self-inflicted pain.

_They're like you aren't they?_ His sister smiles and raises her camera.

"No, no I'm not" Nico answers, gritting his teeth.

_So still, so lifeless, so…'captured.'_ She tells Nico to say 'cheese!'

"Shut up…shut up…shut up!" Nico mumbles to himself. People started to take notice of his actions and glanced at him out of curiosity.

_Frozen in time, and can never move on _With one final smile, she presses the button and the flash lights up his face.

"SHUT UP!" Nico shouted as he stood up, waking his father and the sleeping woman seated in front of him. He dashed from his seat, ignoring the whispers and the glares of the other passengers of the plane. He runs to the Comfort room and hastily opens the door where he found a couple making out. He frowns and tells them to move over before he pulled them away from the room. He places himself inside the tiny comfort room before he locks the door, sealing the gateway to those people and to him.

He sat on the floor, hugging his knees closer to his chest and burying his head on his knees. Some flight attendants tried to pry open the door and others tried to talk to him, but still, he didn't move. He stayed still until he hears his father's voice explaining to the flight attendants that he's having a panic attack, et cetera, et cetera until the attendants slowly went back onto servicing the passengers.

"Nico, son" he hears his father say behind the door "Are you alright? Would you like someone to talk to?"

"No" Nico mumbled, loud enough for his father to hear.

"I'm sorry" he replies "For not noticing any sooner"

Nico looks at the door. Noticed that he was in need of support right now or noticed that his family is breaking down little by little, or maybe didn't notice Bianca's transformation? Hades is the only father in the family –he should know what the hell was happening in his family, not the other way around. Nico didn't give a response. Once he felt his father's presence diminish, he sighed and leaned back at the wall. He suddenly remembers Rachel and the others, who are probably wondering where the hell he went and why weren't he at school. Nico groans as he remembers that he never said a goodbye or anything to them before he left. They were probably worried or angry right now. He took his phone from his pocket and found that he received 14 messages from Rachel, Leo and Michael. Knowing that Leo is pissed off and starts to type misspelled words and phrases (he's super ADHD kept his fingers working fast and his dyslexia isn't helping in correct wrong spellings) and Rachel might start being overdramatic in her messages, he decided to open Michael Yew's message for him.

'_We heard from ur mom u went to new york. Why da hell didnt u tell us? Leo's upset of wat uve done and Rachels not geting better by blaming herself dat uve left. Srsly, why didnt u say, at least, goodbye or something?_

_-Michael' _

Nico sighed. At least Michael was making it easy for him –he couldn't bear to read Leo's messages telling him he backstabbed them by not informing them that he'll go to New York for the school year and Rachel's messages because she'll start blaming herself that he left and asking for forgiveness to the things she didn't do anything bad. He was really thankful that Michael was level-headed enough put his personal and emotional thoughts aside and tries to understand Nico for the reasons behind his actions. Then, he'll decide what to do with the situation. It's not that he was saying his friends were too emotional for him to deal with, it's just –when someone blames someone all because of what you did, don't you feel bad about it? Nico already feels bad about everything, why add more?

Glancing at the digital clock of his cellular phone, it says that it is already 11:11 am. It must be 8:11 at Nevada because of the three hours difference (Nico already set up his clock for the different time zone in New York)

He began to type a reply to Michael Yew

'_Sorry, everything was just so sudden. I'll make it up to all of u. My dad wants me to go to New York and didn't say why. Sorry, really. I'll try to call u guys later'_ Then, he pressed SEND.

Slumping on the bathroom wall, he closed his eyes while flipping his phone over and over again because he's hands was so hyper and he needs to douse his ADHD. He waited himself to sleep.

* * *

When he woke up, he heard over from the megaphone that the plane will land shortly.

He yawned as he rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms over his head. He took the phone that was sitting on the base of the toilet and glanced at the time: 1:45 pm. Realizing that he slept for two hours and 34 minutes inside an airplane's comfort room with concerned flight attendants, a worried father, and (maybe) an angry couple waiting for him on their seats, he decided to go to his father rather than lock himself in this room forever –the second option was really tempting.

Nico opened his door and made his way to his seat even though the **FASTEN SEATBELT **sign lit up. His father almost jumped on his seat when he saw Nico, but couldn't because he already fastened his seat belt. Nico made his way onto his seat before fastening his own seatbelt as the plane descended. He earned looks and glances from the surrounding passengers, but it didn't last long. They have their own business in New York to attend to.

"What happened to you back there? You weren't responding when I tried to talk to you" Hades commented. His frowned deepened as he stared on his son's messy locks "Your hair looks messy. Please comb it"

Even though Nico's experiencing so many problems right now –and of course, Hades knew that too, but his father will never ever stop being a tight-ass. He's kind of a dictator in the family, telling them to do this and that and those until he was satisfied. Nico thought it was normal for every father in a family –they are the _man in the house_, as Americans say. But, Bianca on the other-hand will tell that this philosophy goes deeper in terms of their father.

_Dad's changing us, Nico. If you can just see his true self, you'll see that he's not acting as a father or as a husband, but he's acting as the writer, the omniscient being in his novels. He's lost his grip on reality so much that he thought that our lives –and his own life- is just a huge plot in an ever-dramatic story and his goal is to fulfill that story by leading us to our predestined fates. _Bianca told him, with a sad spark on those hazel-brown eyes of hers. _Mom wasn't like that –her friends told me. She wasn't as caring or as submissive or as fragile before. After being married to dad, she became one of those fragile, damsel-in-distress kind of women which dad likes to write very much on his novels. It's also ironic to see that dad actually pairs up those kind of female characters with a stoic, cold yet soft-hearted male characters –similar to himself- and their love stories will end up in a tragedy, as always. _

When Nico first heard that from Bianca, he thought that he's parents will get divorced someday. But seeing how they were so loving and caring and so perfect for each other, does it seem that they'll be divorced in the near future? Hope not. Nico didn't like how this family was some sort of a huge novel.

Great, he thought, he's thinking about Bianca again and he'll have another episode soon.

Nico sighed and took a deep breath before he combed his hair. Then, he slumped on his seat and waited for the plane to land on the airport.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

New York City never failed to amaze him.

Tall skyscrapers and amazing buildings stood proudly on the city area, bustling vehicles and busy people littered the roads and sidewalks –all looking luxurious with polished European cars and fur coat-wearing businessmen holding briefcases- and stands of amazing exotic foods like _kimchi, _Mexican tacos or Thai noodles sold to the Americans. As their taxi drove to the luxurious part of the city, he couldn't pry his eyes off the beautiful boutiques selling clothes to electronic devices and electronic billboards composed of LED lights that advertise products and such. Out of the distance, he could see the faint silhouette of the Statue of Liberty, standing proudly at Liberty Island.

The Taxi stopped at a huge skyscraper that seemed to reach the blue sky above them. While the taxi driver unloaded their belongings, Nico gaped at the building in front of him –the huge building was painted beige, with gold and brown streams added for contrast. At either side of the walls, stones of different dark colors were plastered on it, just to give the building a beautiful color and texture. As the dark-haired boy trailed his eyes upwards, see-through windows were placed next to each other as the building got higher and higher. On the ground level, however, was a beautiful mini-garden with bushes trimmed to square shapes and bright-colored tulips that added more color to the building and its surroundings. The door was a twin see-through glass door with a shimmering letters saying _'Welcome to Lotus Casino and Hotel'_ and after a few seconds, the letters would disappear and the same sentence would appear, although in a different language. Nico spotted French, Italian, Spanish and other languages he doesn't know.

Nico almost yelped when Hades patted his shoulder, with the driver carrying all his suitcases, gesturing him to enter the hotel. Nico nodded before he slowly stepped into the hotel –the door sliding open for him- and God, this was beyond beautiful.

The lobby itself was a very wide room with the ceiling shaped into a wide arc. The ceiling was composed of tiny bits of glass and stones, forming into one large _Birth of Venus _mosaic. The floor he was stepping on was an ocean blue-tiled floor, and at the center, seemed to be a large and circular mosaic composed of different tiles shaped and pasted next to each other. The tiled-mosaic seemed to portray an Indian American symbol which added more beauty to the lobby. The walls itself were painted yellow –simple, yet elegant. At the right was escalator that led to another floor –people wearing bathing suits and gym clothes stepped into the escalators and went to the upper floors. At his left were halls of elevators where people with luggage or none waited and entered the available elevators. At the far right, pass the escalator, was see-through glass walls and door that seemed to lead to a private backyard, judging from the plants and flowers and the stone pathway leading to a secluded area. At the far right, pass the halls, was another see-through glass walls and door, but Nico saw numerous tables and chairs, and people made their way on the tables with food on their hands. It must be the hotel's outdoor canteen or something. But at the center of it all, the wall behind the lobby desk was a huge sign of a lotus flower, and below it were gold letters saying 'LOTUS CASINO AND HOTEL.' The lotus flower sign was made of lights because it glowed and shimmered –sometimes bright, sometimes dim, just like Christmas lights. They made to the front desk that was made of marble, and two beautiful ladies stood smiling with a pen on their hands and small headset and microphone clipped on their left ear.

"Welcome to Lotus Casino and Hotel, how can we be of service?" the lady with a brown hair and blue eyes said to them, smiling. Her brown hair seemed to have grown gray roots already, but nevertheless, she looked beautiful. Her hair was tied onto a bun, exposing her gray roots, but her deep blue eyes stared back at his dark ones –at some point, Nico saw tiredness into her blue eyes but didn't say any. Her face was tainted with some wrinkles, but her smile seemed to melt them away. She wore a blue scarf on her neck and a blue v-neck, long-sleeved coat with a white short-sleeved blouse underneath. Nico couldn't tell what she was wearing from the waist down, but he concludes that it may be a pencil skirt and high-heeled shoes.

"We reserved a room –Hades di Angelo" His father said.

"Here you go sir" the second lady said. Unlike the brunette lady, she was blond. She has light blond hair tied into a single bun as well; however, she didn't have any gray roots despite looking older than her partner. It maybe because she dyed it because her roots looked shinier than the actual strands, that looked dull and brittle. But, she had these warm jade green eyes that are so captivating; his father's attention was captivated by it. She had some wrinkles as well, but what Nico turned his attention more was a tiny dimple that made way onto the edge of her lips. Her lips looked dry, but they were as red as a fully-matured red rose –it's because of her red lipstick though. She wore a green scarf around her neck and a black v-neck, short- sleeved coat with a white long-sleeved blouse underneath. Like the brunette, he couldn't see what she wore from the waist down, but he concluded it may be a pencil skirt and high-heeled shoes. By the looks of it, the brunette was an inch taller than the blond, but it maybe because of the shoes since the blond looked older. Though, the brunette looked more mature and more experienced. "Enjoy your time here Lotus Casino and Hotel" she said before she handed him the keys to our room. It was a small gold key accompanied with a gold card with the hotel's symbol engraved on it.

It took a few seconds for Hades to register that he was given the keys to the room. He mumbled thanks in Italian before he stormed off, expecting Nico to follow him. The driver of the taxi still brought their luggage, but a bellboy tried to convince the driver to hand him the luggage. He glanced back at his father again, who made his way onto the elevators. Nico's mind must be playing tricks with him because he swore he could see a blush underneath those pale cheeks. Nico glanced back at the ladies on the desk. They turned their attention to another family.

"Nico," his father called him. "Let's go"

Giving one last glance to the ladies at the lobby desk, he turned his sights to his father and followed him at the elevator.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

The suite was seriously cool, though, he's starting to feel a little bit homesick.

The floor was made of bamboo wood –and you could see those lines or marks of the bamboo trunk etched on the floor. Black leather couches formed themselves into a semi-circle, surrounding a small wooden table with fragrance candles on top. A 36-inches plasma screen TV sat its designated rectangular hole in the wall and lights were attached at the hole to highlight the TV. A zebra-striped rug was placed underneath the furniture –just a simple one, but nevertheless looked silky. At the left of the living room was a hallway –two doors on the right side, an open doorway that led to the kitchen area and at the end was a sliding glass doors that led to the balcony. As the bellboy and the driver placed the luggage in the room, Nico wandered off to the kitchen area. Wow, this suite would never fail to impress him.

A large rectangular wooden table sat at the middle of the room. Wooden chairs with velvet leather seats surrounded the table –two at the right, two at the left and each at each the ends of the table. To its right was an expensive kitchen set with high-tech gear that his mother would totally die for. Electronic stoves, kitchen cabinet dishwashers, a refrigerator that adjusts its own temperature and a built in coffee machine and ice-crusher, a complete set of kitchen tools, and many more! If his mom were here, she'll never leave this place.

Next, Nico rushed to the balcony. The balcony wasn't impressive since there were only little furniture there. A wooden table and chair made of some kind of exotic wood was stationed at the balcony. An umbrella that says, 'Indonesia' protected the furniture from the harsh elements. Feeling tired already, Nico sat at one of the chairs. He gazed at New York City –the big apple, they call it- then closed his eyes, letting himself relax. But, it didn't last long.

Images of his mother all alone in an empty house saddened him. What happened yesterday was her turning point already. Her daughter's dead and her son's going crazy, and yet his mother still has her sanity intact. Maria di Angelo is a fragile being. She is a strong mother –the truth!- but she wasn't prepared _this_ to happen at all. Who is, anyway? Fortunately, his mother is strong enough not break into despair like he did. Even though, life fucked both of them, his mother still stood up for his family's sake, acting as the wall that the family could lean on. It was not an easy task for a mother –it's actually the task of the father- yet Maria di Angelo stood up for it. That made her the greatest mom ever.

As for Nico –yes, he is broken, shattered, but he won't let himself be eaten away by despair. He may never open again because the only person who can is dead, but he is not going to wallow up and be suicidal. No, he won't. Even if he _could,_ bad memories would flood into his mind again and his friends would place themselves in his shoes when he found out what had happened to Bianca. His mother, when she found out, was brave enough to want to see her in _that_ room. His father couldn't –too shocked of what had happened- sat at the living room waiting to see the text message of his wife telling it was only a joke. And he, Nico di Angelo, was staring inside _that _room while hearing his friend's voices telling him sorry over and over again until it was deafening.

Their voices were like the souls of the dead begging to get a chance to be alive again. Scary, haunting and full of despair.

When he opened his eyes, Hades sat opposite him, his hands clasped together on the table. He looked guilty and sadder, which had something to do on why they're here in New York City in the first place.

"Son, we have to talk" his father began, meeting his dark brown eyes. Hades' eyes are onyx black –cold, fierce and powerful-looking. It was impossible to see sincerity in those eyes, yet Nico saw it.

Nico only nodded. He didn't want to see something else in the eyes of his father –it seemed that he was only being pitied. Nico hated being pitied. It only meant that the world only cared about you because you're powerless to change the fact that you will never survive in this world.

"You do realize that you need…special attention, yes?"

Nico nodded once again. He knew he wasn't _thinking _right after Bianca's death. He knew that he was broken after her sudden passing. He knew the issues that he kept inside him are eating him away completely, slowly and painfully. But, he was trying his best to stop it. He really did, although, his efforts were futile.

"I've talked to professionals…and…learned that one of the reasons of your…fatal mental condition is the fact that you are surrounded by uninspiring individuals or bad influences,"

Nico looked at him questioningly

"They think it's best if we remove you from a broken down society and move you into a more influential and inspiring one –like New York. It's the city built on dreams, yes? It's much better than Nevada. Your school –it's my fault why I even chose that school for you. It's nothing but a dump. Terrible teachers and anti-social students all around –the principal doesn't even care of the education standards followed in America! It's better for you to go into a more prestigious and reassuring school! Like the school where Bianca goes"

"Went, dad, _went_" Nico emphasized, a frown on his face "Are you saying my friends, our neighbors, even the people you used to work with are _bad influences _–as if, they're diseased or something?! Are you saying that they've reduced me into a mess? Are you saying _I'm_ a mess?"

Even without being tortured for the truth, Nico admits he _is_ a mess. Ever since Bianca left, he had turned out this way –but, this was normal is it? Of course, when someone dies, those who are close to that person would be lost. They would feel as if a huge part of their life was torn apart so ruthlessly and they were forced to deal with the pain until it heals; as if they've lost a part of themselves and they know they can't get it back yet they still search for it desperately; as if they have to go back to their old lives and act as if that person never existed because they have to move on even though it was painful. Yes, that's how Nico feels right now, but no, his father doesn't understand what _mess _is. His father –no, he didn't use the term _mess_ correctly- might have meant what was wrong with Nico, a mistake easily corrected by simple matters; a wrong caused by the environment he grew up in, which his parents admitted fault. And a trip to New York would all cure the problems and they could go back to the happy family they used to be. This wasn't the issue Nico is in dire in need of help. Nico is a mess –a broken, shattered, hopeless being who have lost everything. A simple trip to a faraway land won't cure anything.

"That's not what I meant, Nico" Hades answered "But, you do realize what are you becoming? You should have seen that… in Nevada, things are insufficient for you to supply you with your…_needs_"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nico snapped, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. His father began rubbing his temples as he tried to contain his anger. Nico knew that his father doesn't like the tone of his voice –or any tone that would portray dominance or defiance against him, yet Nico stood firm. He didn't like how he moved from Nevada to New York because being with his friends and family is bad for him and this new city would cure him like in the movies.

"First of all, just how the doctors have prescribed, a change of environment would best suit and amend the situation. I believe that a trip, even though looks impossible, would cure you, and now I could verify that my assumptions are correct. See how you've calmed and relaxed in New York? You might not see the changes, but I could observe that this trip have distracted you from whatever you are facing right now and may have brought enlightenment. Second, the Wilderness School principal informed me of your low grades and your intentional failures, as well as the shenanigans you and your _friends_ pulled off in every summer that alerted the police. It's wise to move you to a safer location where you could start off again as something good in a new school –the scandals are off the chart, Di Angelo and I'm not sure what our own neighbors are telling each other about you. Lastly, the other reasons are for my own personal intentions. I might sound selfish because I picked the wrong time to start the project, yet I'm thankful because I could bring you here too"

Nico nodded. His father, after finishing his "Falling Apart" series, planned to start another novel. He called this project the "I Never Thought You Would Do That" from the title of his soon to be novel. It was about a young girl who did everything she could to catch the attention of a boy she could never be with, ignoring her own family and the childhood friend who loves her. Another dark story, though, teens and adults alike are attracted to the plot because of the uncertainties the girl will face along the way –will she be able to make the boy fall in love with her or will she choose the childhood friend. Even though, the ending is obvious –another tragic love story-, it interests the readers is what will the girl do and will the boy notice her. It's pretty tragic, but Hades knows how to write a funny tragic love story.

"I'm flattered dad, really am" Nico answered "You used to go to New York to visit Bianca so she could help you with your projects. This is the first time you asked me for help in a project"

Hades' eyebrows furrowed "Nico…"

Nico shook his head "Dad, I'm tired. I'm going to take a nap" He stood up and dusted his lap.

Hades stood up, reaching his hand to pat Nico's shoulder, but didn't. He sighed. "Alright. You have school tomorrow. Get a good rest. You're bedroom is the first room across the hall"

Nico nodded before he left, walking towards the door of his room. Before he could even disappear inside, he heard his father's phone ring and the sound of Hades answering the call. Nico sighed before he plopped himself on the bed, lazily removing his sneakers and tossing them under the bed. He looked around him.

His room was a dim-lighted tight spaced room with sky blue-colored walls, an auburn oak-wood floor and a navy blue painted ceiling hovering over him. Two bay windows located on two adjacent walls were covered with white drapes that blocked any afternoon light or the magnificent view of the Lotus Casino and Hotel gardens and the New York City. An empty closet stood next to bay window in front of his bed, along with two duffel bags of his clothes and other belongings. At the far right of his bed, next to the other bay window was his oak desk and chair with his new text books and a small lamppost on it. On the ceiling were the glow-in-the-dark star stickers forming an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations, surrounding a light bulb encased in an orange lantern-like case with both ends open.

Nico's bed was a comfortable thick mattress with a white duvet and striped pillows covering it. An end table was placed next to his best, with a lamp and a digital alarm clock placed on it. Nico took his phone from his pocket, viewing the new text message from Michael Yew.

_-Fine. Call me later after school. Rachel and Leo want to talk to you too, so please do._

He sighed again before he placed his phone on the table. When he was about to close his eyes to drift into a peaceful nap, a blue light washed over the room, as well as fished shaped silhouettes. He looked behind the headboard to see a 24-inch aquarium attached into the wall behind the headboard. Lights brightened the aquarium, yet the fishes didn't seem to mind the surprising burst of light. Quiet gurgles in the water echoed in the room as the fishes swam, leaving trails of small bubbles. Nico's attention seemed to drift on the colorful sights in the aquarium –red, violet, orange, striped and polka-dotted fishes of the tropical waters, along with the colorful decorations like white sand and the fake corals. His ADHD just liked to focus on the brightly colored objects his eyes could see. He forgot his nap, Michael Yew and his father altogether. ADHD may seem pretty handy in forgetting those which bother him, yet it's a drag as well.

As he watched the fishes swim in the water, thoughts raced into Nico's mind, clogging and clouding his perceptions. It was weird how he remembered all his problems and worries when he's staring into nothing or when he wasn't thinking anything. The first of his issues was his new school, the new people, the new city. He's going to get used to it after some time –he needed to. After all, he's going to stay here for months or a year. But, he managed to push those aside, no time to worry about that. The second of his worries is his friends. They alone were a big problem to him but he set a later appointment to worry about it later. The final worry was his parents. That, well he doesn't have much reason to worry about it, anyways, so it wasn't that much hard to push it aside as well.

After he pushed all problems and worries aside, he managed to get a free state of mind. He solely focused on the fishes swimming in the de-chlorinated water , and, somehow, Bianca's words started filling his mind. And for the first time after three agonizing weeks, he didn't push her aside. What was the point? He'll wreck his new room if he did.

_So still, so lifeless, so 'captured'_

Those words seemed blank, but when he looked at these aquatic creatures, it strikes him. These fishes were so still: They lived in a constant point in life, to never jump into its limits or descend under the standard of life. They lived in a still point in their life, after they are born until they die, and that is to swim, reproduce and survive. That was it. No breaking that way of life. These fishes were also lifeless: Because of their one goal in their simple life, they don't seem to actually live their life. They just keep swimming until they die. There was no point in living their life like that yet they continue to, as if, they know their fate but just kept on living. Living a life that has one end for all; a lifeless journey. Lastly, they are also captured. Trapped in the constant life they have, trapped in the bowels of the sea, trapped in this aquarium. No way to escape or want to flee. Captured in a still lifeless moment. Pitiful.

Nico is like them, isn't he? Nico is still –he lived in a constant point in life, to never jump over his limits or descend under the standard of life. He couldn't exceed his limits unlike Bianca, always exerting so much effort on her life and does what is unexpected and he couldn't descend under the simple standard of life because he can't do it: The simple standard of life was to survive. He couldn't break that rule, unlike the others who committed suicide. Nico is lifeless as well. His life was full of nothing: no goal, no expectations, nothing. He knew he was going to die in the end just like the others, but still, he kept on living. He was living in a pointless life. He was dull as he can ever be. He could end it, but he couldn't. His entire neurological thinking was so complex that even he is confused. Lastly, Nico is captured as well. Captured, why? For starters, he couldn't move on. He was captured in a still point in his pointless life. It was no use to break free from that point. It was a lot of work to do and Nico is tired. He's tired for living for so many years, yet he has no guts to end it. As said before, his way of thinking is confusing.

He's so confusing. But, that was normal isn't? People tend to get confused, just like him and Bianca.

Just like Bianca.

* * *

**Whoo! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Took me two rewrites to get this chapter done :)) I hope you could see the hints and symbolisms I've left. :)) Though, this is just a start. There is a large chance that Percy might show up, though the interaction between them is low.**

Please leave a review :))


	3. Chapter 2

**SORRYYY!  
**

**As you can read, I'm still alive, though, because I missed to update (and how ridiculously long this chapter is, I forgot to update and now it's May. Seriously, I am so sorry.**

**Without further ado, here it is~ I do not own PJO. Thank you for those who are supporting and reading this story~**

* * *

"_So, let me get this straight… Your dad brought you with him in New York for his project, enrolled you into a new school, and left your mother alone in your house in Nevada?_" Michael Yew asked. He is currently on the other line, speaking with his close friend Nico di Angelo through phone. The half-Italian sighed before he nodded, as if Michael could see that, but did anyway. He knew that Michael was emphasizing the latter part, because he didn't believe it, but nonetheless didn't mention his thoughts out loud. It was hard to believe that you're leaving your own sweet and lovable mother alone, exposed to harm and danger. But, Hades didn't look bothered at all, in fact, he looked relieved, which is suspicious or disturbing to say.

"_I could believe the first two parts of your story –the last one, not that much. I mean, I really don't know what your father is really thinking. By the way, I heard that you kind of got into _'The List_' again." _Michael answered _"To make things better for you, Leo and Rachel got into the list too and I'm still under investigation"_

Nico chuckled. "That's cool" he said sarcastically. When a student gets listed into 'The List' of the Wilderness School for Troubled Children, it doesn't mean immediate expulsion for all the bad things you've done, the school just writes this note on your school profile stating that this student is not spending any effort in his/her academic works, never is actively participating in any of school extracurricular or required activities, has committed violations of the highest degree in the current and past school years, and failed in every goal and expectation of a Wilderness student. Rachel and Leo don't really care about that; however, Michael and Nico do. When you get listed in 'The List', it's harder to enroll into another school or get into a good university because of that single note. And the only way to get crossed out of the list is to do community services, extracurricular activities and get an A+ in at least one subject. Last summer, Nico got into the list and for the first time in a zillion years, he had to do his Summer class English homework and put so much effort in his essays in order to get an A+ (which was so hard to do because of his dyslexia, but thankfully, he underwent those reading programs and auditory training which improved his reading twofold), volunteer to entertain the elderly in the retirement homes, as well as try out archery just to get out of that list. The essay part was rewarding, though the other two weren't. The elderly just hated him and he just wasted the Archery club's arrows. Nico, remembering his terrible experiences because of that list, groaned and said "I take that back. I hate it. I don't what I'm going to do. I'm not trying out archery again"

Michael chuckled. _"Haha. You were so terrible at it; I actually wanted Clarisse back to end your misery" _

Clarisse Rue was Nico's old school bully that Michael stood up from. The archer and the bully were the ultimate enemies, and no one felt safe when these two are in the same hallway. At the same summer Nico got in 'The List', Clarisse moved to a faraway state in America, never to be heard again. Funny how she caused so much suffering yet never really did got written in the List. But then again, Nico and the others did so much horrible stuff –like setting the school bus on fire, accidentally.

"Yeah, yeah. I hope Leo and Rachel do get crossed out"

"_Give me half the school year for those two to get them into community service; three months and a super smart kid's home work to get an A+ and two eternities to get them to do a school activity"_

"Hey, don't underestimate them. Give them at least 3 eternities for the school activity"

Michael chuckled once again _"And you should know that even though you moved from a different school now doesn't mean that you avoided the community service, extracurricular activity, and the required A+"_

"I know that. The email they sent to me was in bright red letters. Took me 10 minutes to read a 2-sentenced letter –**Mr. Nico Di Angelo, you have been marked in 'the List' and therefore subjected into tight supervision of school officials regarding your behavior as you are put into the task of performing an outstanding grade in, at least, one subject, commit to community service to serve the townsfolk, and subject into the school's extracurricular activity. A note is written in your educatory profile stating that the school officials of the new school you've enrolled in will be responsible of delegating these tasks to you as well as observing your behavior and performance of these tasks in the duration of the school year, and failure of finishing the tasks is the failure to cross your name on the list**, **thus, a reset of your tasks.**" Nico mocked "I think Dad got a letter regarding this."

"_Rachel and Leo have received the same message as well, and they've sent a nice reply"_

Nico paused for a minute and sighed. "They got suspended in the first day of school?"

"_Spent the whole day in the Principal's office with no recess or lunch breaks"_

"That's horrible. Surely, they've missed the delightful lunch of the day!" Nico sarcastically replied.

"_It's lima beans. You know how Leo hates them"_

"I was being sarcastic"

"_Everything you say _has_ sarcasm"_

Nico chuckled "Yeah, whatever. So, is that a wrap?"

He could feel Michael scowling through the phone _"Rachel and Leo wanted to talk to you"_

"And?"

"_They've got detention"_

"How many hours? Need to take dinner, A.s.a.p."

"_Dunno"_

"I'll just talk to them later"

Michael was silent for a moment, but then, sighed. _"Fine. Oh and by the way,"_

Nico made a quick moan as his response.

"_You shouldn't be hard on Rachel. I mean, stop pretending you don't know what she's talking about. It's either you're in the denial or the fact that you're going nuts over this whole thing"_

"I thought we were over this?"

"_Over this? We just started! Damn it Nico, if there's someone to blame, it's not you, or Rachel, or anyone for that matter. We didn't expect it to happen. No one did. So, if you want someone to blame, don't"_

"I am not blaming anyone."

"_Yeah? So tell Rachel that it's not her fault."_

"Why the hell are you so obsessed with Rachel? Honestly, she's not going to die if you stop breathing down her neck"

"_Focus on the topic, Di Angelo"_

"I am! But you're the one who's changing it! We had a simple and civil conversation about this whole school junk and then you start talking about Rachel. For my sake, Michael, will you just drop Rachel?" Nico said in a hushed whisper.

"_It's not about her! It's about you! Can't you just open your eyes for a bit and see that she's trying to help you from the very beginning! Of course you didn't, because you were too oblivious to notice! You kept pushing her away! If you would just listen to those who care about you and if you would just give others a chance to help you, this wouldn't have happened –and this all because of your sister! It's all her fault!"_

Nico bit his lip. For the first time, he felt angry at Michael Yew, the only sensible, sensitive and wise enough to put Nico, Rachel and Leo out of trouble. How dare he blame Bianca! She was –and still is- Nico's light, his hope, his savior from despair. And now she's gone. And yet she received a negative remark from Michael Yew! Bianca deserved to be a saint! She sacrificed every bit of her time to help Nico in his issues, she convinced Nico to live and made every bit of his life happy, she gave Nico something that his parents and his friends couldn't give: Love. No one had ever given him so much care and affection in his life.

His parents didn't really love him that much. They were too preoccupied with work and they were so appreciative of Bianca that they forgot they have a son. Nico knew that Hades was resentful to have Nico in the first place. He was ashamed to have a son who cannot keep up with Bianca's skill, intelligence and talents. Nico was always trying, though, Hades couldn't see that. Hades, thankfully, didn't give him physical or verbal abuse, but whenever Hades was ashamed of Nico's poor abilities, he would ignore him. No _'Keep trying son'_ or _'It's okay'_, just a simple sigh and scoff. Maria, his mother, well, she was his mother so she was obligated to give Nico affection, but never really did love him. The black-haired boy, when he was a child, heard from a conversation from his aunt and his mother that he was a mistake, an unwanted child. It hurt Nico, but he learned how to ignore it and turn it into a dull ache. And now, he knows that his parents didn't like him or didn't hate him, just didn't _want_ him. It was fine, Nico admitted. His parents didn't set up high expectations for him and they provided his basic needs. Plus, they wouldn't give him 'The Talk' from time to time to check up on his life. For the black-haired boy, 'The Talk' was annoying. And if ever they would have 'The Talk', they would be surprised, ashamed and disappointed to learn of Nico's issues.

His friends were just his friends, people whom he established a stable social interaction with. Their friendship with each other is like a one-night stand. One confession or sharing yesterday would be forgotten the next day. No one really wanted to reveal themselves to each other. They just hang out together because it seemed the normal thing to do as a teenager. None of them really wanted to be labeled as loners and get picked on with bullies (plus, being friends with Michael Yew offers protection from bullies). His friendship with Rachel is beneficial. Nico promised to keep her out of trouble and she would offer some assistance in the academic and financial department. Plus, she is more interactive with Leo and Michael, so Nico is like the loner or the filler in their group. His friendship with Leo is mere understanding. Leo and Nico have ADHD and dyslexia, are very mischievous, are both bored in class and are friends with Rachel, so it would be natural to be friends with each other. His friendship with Michael is mere understanding as well. Michael is the protector of the group while Nico kept Rachel and Leo out of trouble, so, naturally, they would work together to keep those two out of trouble. And since they're always together to keep the duo out of trouble, they became friends as well.

So, what was Michael's right to say it was her fault? Her fault of why Rachel was blaming herself, Leo was sad, and everything just went downhill. He was a friend, just a friend. And nothing more than that. He sighed and said. "This conversation is over" before he ended the call. Then, he went outside of his room to go meet his father for dinner.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

"I hate peas" Nico blurted out as he played with the green orbs with his fork. The peas just kept sliding on the dirty porcelain dish, tainted with the mash potatoes, cubed chicken breast and American _risotto_. All that's left were the peas that accompanied the chicken breast, the piece of poultry which claimed to have been marinated in the delicious marinate mix of oyster sauce and seven different herbs. The truth is, the chicken is tender, but lacked in the herbs department. It tasted like it was just a tender piece of tasty chicken marinated in salty oyster sauce, pepper, and maybe some oregano –that's not seven herbs. The mashed potatoes were a little moist to Nico's liking, and a bit chunky, but their gravy is just divine. The _risotto_, well, it doesn't taste as good as how his mother's, but, still, edible.

"No, you love them" Hades countered, still finishing his cubed chicken breast and risotto. "Now, eat it" It doesn't really sound like a request, more like a command, though, he always sounds like that.

Nico silently sighed before he took the peas into his mouth, swallowed it without chewing, gagged a little, but successfully delivered the unwanted substance into his stomach. He emptied a glass of water before excusing himself out of the table. Hades only nodded before he answered another business call. Nico went back into his room, plopped himself on his bed and look at his left. The cellular phone he left on the end table says that he has 4 missed calls from Michael Yew and 3 text messages from him too. He just rolled his eyes before he hid the phone in the drawer of the end table and hoped that Michael would stop pestering him. He looked at the alarm clock. _6:07 pm_.

The black-haired male couldn't take another nap, so instead, he decided to change into a simple grey shirt with a skull-print and a pair of navy-blue track shorts. He dumped the laundry next to the closet, except for his aviator's jacket which he hung up with a hanger in the closet. Then, he took his laptop from his duffel bag, sat on his bed, took a pillow and placed it on his lap, then the laptop on the pillow. Since the hotel offered free wi-fi, why not use it? He connected onto the hotel's wi-fi, opened the Mozilla Firefox browser and surfed for some interesting games. After a few scrolls through , he found nothing interesting to play. So, instead, he decided to log in his old account in Fusion Fall. He killed some sopor slime monsters and did some quests for a good of three hours. Even though, he was busy killing slimes and saving the Cartoon Network world from these monsters, he couldn't help but feel guilty –Guilty is not the correct term, it's bothered. Nico will never feel guilty in an argument where he did nothing wrong. Michael Yew was the one being the ass.

"I told you, it's over!"

Nico blinked. Was that his father? He moved the laptop away from his lap as he quietly sneaked outside his room. He hid behind the walls of the dining room, standing stiffly as he heard his father slam the table and curse in Italian. Half of the conversation was on Italian, his second language, but he had deciphered the words successfully even though his father was talking so fast (and the fact that Nico is not that fluent in Italian).

"Aren't you listening? We are through, siamo attraverso **[1]**. Get that? Ottenere quel? **[2]** Ho sono sposato, con due figli! Io ho la mia famiglia adesso e dovreste trovare uno troppo! **[3]**" Hades yelled. He paused, listening to the person on the end of the line before he groaned and said "Per l'amor di Dio, Persefone, non Hai capito? Abbiamo sono divorziati! Voi posto fine alla nostra vincolo matrimonal davanti a tutti, davanti al prete che ci ha sposati, di fronte a Dio! Ed pensi che io potrebbe risolvere il pasticcio che hai fatto? No! Non posso! Io ho la mia vita e non posso buttare via di nuovo come ho fatto prima per te! No! No! It's impossible! It's done, finished, gone! Goodbye! Addio! **[4]**"

Hades slammed the phone on the table as he stood up, causing the chair to slide and make a screechy noise on contact with the floor. Nico hurried back to his room, where he confined himself in the dark. Nico, realizing that he has enough to deal with right now and SHE has to come back in the picture AGAIN to ruin the family that's already in a shit-load of mess, turned off his laptop and placed it on the desk before he covered himself in a duvet and went to sleep.

* * *

Nico definitely didn't sleep well last night. So, for the first time in millennia, he woke up minutes before his alarm clock would wake him up.

Bianca has found her way into Nico's dreams, where she plagued him again in his memories. Of course, he wasn't able to narrate what exactly he dreamt because he already forgot it minutes after he woke up, but he remembered one line that seemed to echo in the deep chasms of his mind: _"You're always running away"._ Running away? When did a Di Angelo ever back up from anything? The Di Angelo family may not have high standards, but this family always has one extra-special rule that should never be broken: _A Di Angelo never backs from anything_. Hades explained it his children ever since they started learning: They should never quit, or run, or give up from anything that life gives us. It was really a simple rule, but hard to keep up with and Nico had broken the rule several times. Life wasn't that sweet jolly man who lives in the neighborhood, offering sweets to all children and passer-bys. No, he was the man in a black business suit and brown briefcase, with black sunglasses covering his lifeless eyes and a cellular phone that vibrates whenever there was a scheduled meeting with an unfortunate person. He would be visiting that unlucky man in his own house, get the yellow and sour lemons from his briefcase and say: "Your wife left you and withdraw every last piece of money you earned in your whole life from the bank. Deal with it". And then he would leave the unlucky man crying in his doorstep, as if this was all a game, while the unlucky man would be wondering what he'll do with the sour lemons life has given to him, because he has no sugar to make these into lemonade and all he has were salty tears streaming from his eyes and nothing sweet left in his life to deal with such tragedy.

And of course, Nico, in the past few years, was visited by Life to give him lemons every time he started having the issues. "Your neighbor accidentally shot your dog in the head and you didn't even feel the slightest bit of sadness. Deal with it", "You have ADHD and dyslexia, you're not normal and nobody wants you. Deal with it", "You have sexuality problems and because of that, you're not welcome to society. Deal with it" and many more. Heck, if Life was, literally, a lemon messenger in a business suit, Nico might have two closets full of lemons back home. And all Nico would do is to dump all the lemons in the chasms of the Grand Canyon, where no one would ever see the lemons again, other than Life that is, because he has no sweets left in his life to make the lemons into lemonade. And Life would chase Nico to the ends of the earth, carrying all the lemons the boy dumped, because he needs Nico to realize that even though the boy doesn't want anymore lemons, he needs to deal with them and not run away from them. Nico might've broken the most important rule of his family (and angered Life), but he doesn't care anymore. It was so hard dealing with lemons all the time.

Okay, enough with the lemons, he needs to go to school.

He stretched his limbs as he got up from bed, not bothered by the darkness his room suffice while the blinds blocked the sunlight that threatened to enter his room. The golden rays were seeping into the gaps of the blinds, feeding the room with little light (the blue aquarium light turned itself off, for some reason). Nico didn't bother to open the blinds nor bother to get up when he tripped on his way to the door. He didn't bother even when his alarm clock fell on top of his head after he tripped. He just laid himself on the cold floor, his cheek throbbing from the impact and his legs hooked on his duvet. He stared at the beams of light seeping from the gaps, with little particles dancing around in the light.

_Under the presence of light, dust particles can be seen. _Bianca's sweet voice echoes throughout the room. She was holding his Science book as he listened, and at the same time, studied for his Science test about mixtures and that kind of stuff. Nico wasn't good at reading that much and he tends to get headaches whenever he tries to read, so he went to Bianca for auditory help.

_It is because colloidal particles exhibit the ability to scatter light. _She said, flipping the page of the book. Nico tries to remember how she smiled whenever she reads the passages in the book and how she would move a lone hair strand behind her ear.

_The Tyndall effect was named after John Tyndall, a British (born in Ireland) scientist who studied this ability of a colloid. _She said. Nico noticed how she shone under daylight. Her glowing auburn-hair sliding on her shoulders, hazel-brown eyes getting more brighter, cheeks maintaining that natural rosy red color, lips showing moist and a healthy and vibrant shade of pink, and a healthy tan, peachy complexion –not too dark, not too pale, just the right shade of brown. She was like his mother's twin, although, Bianca was claimed to be more 'vibrant' or 'youthful'.

And just then, Nico saw it. He saw her on that beam of light, glowing and shining like she used to back then. Under that beam of sunlight, she was sitting cross-legged, holding his old Science book, reading the words with her eyes and flipping the page when she was done. Her hair was neatly combed and tucked behind her ear, her eyes focused on whatever words were written on that page. Her lips were pursed into a thin line and her cheeks were glowing red. Her skin was as tan as Nico used to see, with no blemish or scar present, and she was wearing a gray tank top and black jogging pants. She wore no kind of footwear, but she looked comfortable without one. Dust particles danced around her, shining and glowing like her. Her eyes lazily darted onto Nico as she closed the book with both of her palms.

_Colloids can be seen when they scatter light. _She whispered. She smiled pitifully at Nico, as if there was something about the boy that could never be fixed. _No one can see you. _She began _No one does. No one would and no one would care. No one would see your suffering and that will always remain true._

"I'm getting delusional; I'm just imagining this shit." Nico mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes. He covered his ears with his hands, hoping that this illusion would go away. His episode in the plane nearly cost his passport, and he would gladly not wreck his room over a holographic image of Bianca, even if this illusion looked so lifelike.

_Oh Nico, I'm so sad for you. You have become so insignificant… You are like a dust –people would want to sweep you off from their houses and you would drift away into nothing. You can only be see under light, but when was the time when light has descended upon you? When was the time everyone could see you?_

Nico curled into a ball. Every word she said was right –every word she has spoken is always right. Even though, he had covered his ears, he could still hear the sour words. He was always insignificant; he was always invisible to the world. He never had a spotlight –not the kind when Nico does something very memorable and would make his parent's proud, the kind of spotlight wherein everyone would look at him and acknowledge that he is existing, he is suffering, and he is a person. But no, that kind of spotlight never shone above him. He was a dust in a big and developing society, where his kind was not really welcomed or beneficial to its continual survival. He would be swept away into one house after another, until he would drift into nothing, into serenity.

If Life the lemon messenger in a business suit had anything to do with this, well, he got his revenge. Every lemon dumped in the chasms of the Grand Canyon had been returned to its rightful owner. Nico had never felt so sour and ashamed.

_Nico, I want to help you. _

"Shut up, you're not real."

_Come to the light._

"I am not dead."

_Open the blinds._

"No."

_And let the spotlight light you up._

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Nico threw the alarm clock at Bianca's illusion. It hit the wall, wrecking the clock and the process and also leaving a blemish on the wall. The clock made a croaking sound as it slowly died away. The illusion of his sister was nowhere to found, now dispersed into thin air. Once again, he was alone in his dark room, in his own safe haven, in this room where he is slowly losing his sanity. Nico took deep breaths before he groped his way to the door, which he doesn't know the location, and he felt that he was lost in his own room. Pity, huh?

Suddenly, lights lit up the room as something hit his hip rather hardly, causing the boy to wince in pain. He cupped his hip, and thought that this will bruise later.

"Shit, sorry!" A familiar voice –or rather, his father- said as he bent down on Nico's level, removing the hands that covered the boy's hip and examined the hip. Nico glanced at the source of the unfamiliar light. Nico frowned, not because of the light, but because of the fact that he was so close to the door –he was actually hit by it- and yet he didn't managed to find it. He, then, glanced back at his hip and saw that it was starting to bruise.

"What were you doing lying next to the door?" Hades asked, restricting to raise his voice. "Why is this room so dark?"

Nico tried to speak, but couldn't. His father's eyes landed on the wrecked digital clock on the floor and judging by his expression, the scream he must've heard earlier along with the pile of broken clockwork gears formulated one conclusion in his mind, and he is correct. Nico, his dear son, is acting crazy again –or to put it in sensitive words: Nico is having an episode again.

Hades' eyes landed on Nico. Along with those stoic and calculating gaze was pity and understanding. These two unfamiliar emotions, pity and understanding, made Nico a little queasy. He did not like how his father was capable of showing these emotions because it proved to him that he was making his father bothered, disturbed and worried about his mental health and he doesn't like how he gets his attention like this.

"Son…" He started, but Nico cut him off.

"Sorry dad, for wrecking the clock. Must've been pretty expensive." Nico said. He put on a light-hearted tone, just to show that he wasn't in need of help nor he shouldn't be the cause of his worries. Hades didn't seem to buy it, though Nico was persistent. He flashed his father a smile, before he stood up, untangling his legs from the duvet. Hades only looked at him as if he was reading his son's mind, which he must be trying to do, but Nico was too unpredictable. Hades flashed him a small smile.

"Come. I cooked pancakes for breakfast." Hades said, holding onto his son's shoulder as he led him away from his room. "I'm not as good as your mother in terms of breakfast, nor I am a morning person like her neither, but, you know…there's no too late for everything, right?"

Nico smiled. Even though, he was being kind of paranoid by thinking that he's father cooked breakfast for the very first time because of Nico's mental state, he really appreciated the effort. Never had he tasted Hades' breakfast buffet except for his mother. And believe me; Hades only did that because he tried to impress her. Emphasis on the word tried. Also, as far as Nico knew, Hades was never a morning person. Try to wake him up early in the morning and if you're not Maria di Angelo, you'll get shocked on how Hades' looked like in the morning or how he seemed crankier than a woman in mood swings. "Yeah," Nico nodded "Now, let's taste the pancakes."

**OOOOoooOOOO**

Okay, the blueberry pancakes Hades Edition wasn't so bad, once you get past some burned edges and raw parts.

Hades did some redecorating with the kitchen, A. K. A huge mess of pancake mix; however, the two get past that and ate breakfast silently. Hades didn't question what happened in Nico's room nor brought any mushy _'I'll always be here, son'_ words to his son. And for that, Nico is thankful. It wasn't really natural to talk about him. They never really talked about him because they always talk about Bianca, not that Nico minded. It's just weird if Hades started asking Nico about his day and shit since Bianca's dead and there was nothing to talk about her now. And Nico wasn't going to hog the 'favorite child' spotlight and heck he wasn't going to be her replacement. He might as well shit bricks if that happened.

After eating breakfast, his father told him to suit up for his first day in school. Hades never mentioned what school he was going to, but, since his father had bought him new fancy loafers it must be very fancy. Usually, Nico would go to school with his trusty aviator's jacket, his grim reaper black t-shirt, dark brown baggy pants with flashing silver chains and zippers, black socks, and his ratty black sneakers. The only time he wore loafers in school was in Junior Prom, when he, Rachel, Leo and Michael pretended to attend Junior prom and instead, went to Rachel's house to play video games and stuff (Her dad wasn't home that night).

So, Nico showered and did personal hygiene stuff in the small bathroom inside his room, which his father commented that he didn't notice because his room was so dark. It was a small room right behind his bed. The bathroom shared the wall where the aquarium was attached into, so when you take a shower or do your personal business in the bathroom, fishes will be stalking you. Aside from the stalker fishes, the bathroom had light blue tiled flooring. Half of the walls were light blue tiles, and the other half was painted white. The ceiling was cream-colored with light brown and mahogany stones and glass attached that reminded him of the sands in the beaches. There was a fluorescent bulb in the center of the ceiling as well as an exhaust fan opposite the toilet. A white, polished marble sink with glass knobs was located near the door. A mirror/medicine cabinet was located right above the sink. There was a white polished toilet, but Nico didn't want to get details for that. The bathtub occupied most of the bathroom. It was a white, oval-shaped bathtub with carved slopes at the sides for soaps and shampoos. Attached to the tub was a shower stand, and at the base of that connection were diamond knobs to control hot and cold water.

Once he was finished with his bath duties, he dressed up with the clothes his father picked for him. He wore a v-neck, long-sleeved cream-colored polo shirt, a black blazer, dark blue jeans, and the fancy loafers. His father asked him to gel his hair, so it wouldn't look messy. He also wore that perfume his father picked, though he was reluctant at first, but did anyway, for the sake of his father. Once he got out of his room to show his father his attire, his father looked…proud for him. Nico, looking at the whole-body mirror in his father's room, thought that he kind of looked stupid. It was weird to see himself in formal attire, and without his aviator's jacket. He felt more exposed to his surroundings because of the lack of his trusty jacket.

"Can I wear my jacket?" Nico asked. Hades shook his head.

"You're always wearing that jacket, son. Why not take a break from it?"

Nico frowned but nodded. Well, it was true. He was always wearing that jacket: At school, weekends at the mall, at his summer classes, at church –almost always! The only time he wasn't wearing his jacket was on Sunday afternoon, because that was the day of washing his jacket, drying it by ACU, ironing it and placing it in his closet for tomorrow. He loved that jacket because…Bianca gave it to him. Whenever she was faraway, that jacket would remind him of the warm hugs they shared, the cozy feeling whenever he was with her, and the sense of security and dispersion of paranoia. Every bit of Bianca's presence was in this jacket and heck, if a snatcher would take this away from it, that criminal would have to go through Nico's corpse first.

And now Bianca's dead, there was no absolute and valid reason for Nico to take that jacket away from him. So, when Nico excused himself to get his phone and his bag on his desk (Hades, when Nico was asleep last night, had packed all his necessary things in the bag: notebooks, books, wallet, pens and some hygienic stuff), he stuffed his jacket inside his bag, pocketed his phone and met his father outside their suite, where he locked the door. Then, they went to the elevators, went to the parking lot and drove away from Lotus Casino and Hotel.

* * *

"I'll meet you at 4. Don't wander off." Hades instructed as Nico unbuckled the seat belt strapped on his body. Nico only nodded before he bid his goodbyes and exited the car, taking sight of the school before him. It was a large campus, with red-bricked buildings and gray concrete ones. There was a large garden with smooth stone pathways before him, where students sat under trees or laid on the perfectly-trimmed grass before going to their classes. The students here looked really formal, well-mannered and normal, unlike his peers back home, who wore ragged clothes and classified as freaks or brats. Nico walked towards the main building, where gold gigantic letters inscribed GOODE HIGH SCHOOL right above glass sliding doors. Once he entered the lobby of the school, his eyes widened. The floor was tiled with blue-green tiles, and a large symbol of the school was imprinted on the lobby floor. Security desks lay right next to the doors and well-trained guards monitored the school through monitors and cameras. A large stairwell led towards the next floor on his far right. Hallways darted at every direction, and they were filled with students who were already talking and greeting each other. They leaned onto the green lockers, as if, marking the possession of it. Brown doors labeled with the different school subjects stood right next to the lockers, vandalize-free. Back home, at the first day of school, kids were already vandalizing doors and lockers, and students were designated with their own lockers rather the other way around.

Suddenly, he felt…misplaced. Of course he was, he was in normal kid territory and he isn't normal. He's a kid with ADHD and dyslexia. He is a delinquent and under school probation because of The List. He lives in Nevada and he wasn't even a full-blooded American. He has no friends here nor anyone he could talk to. He wished he could just go back home, with his loving mother and understanding friends. He wished he wasn't here in this foreign school, filled with normal children who would judge him because he isn't normal. He wished he would just disappear right now so he won't have to deal with this normal shit over again. He is and always will be not normal. And school officials of a high-quality educational facility for normal kids like this would kick him out of this school because they only teach normal children and not a hyper and dyslexic boy who's labeled as a delinquent and an underachiever. What was his father thinking? Suddenly, he got an urge to bang his head on the locker, regardless of what people might think of him, though, he fought that urge, slipped his hand into his bag, took his aviator's jacket and put it on. And presto, he felt calmer already. No frustration, no nervousness, no paranoia, no 'what do these Normal Kids think?'. Just that warm and cozy feeling.

But that ended quickly.

Suddenly, Nico found himself pushed to the ground. The other students have scampered away from him, as if; he caught a vile disease or something. A large silhouette loomed over him, and when he looked up, a jock was staring at him, a frown on his lips. He looked about 16-17 years old, with straight, dirty blonde hair which was cut short and neatly styled. He had piercing, dark blue eyes that radiated with intimidation and cleverness, like an eyes of a Jack Of All Trades. He has a soft, tan complexion, like of a runner. He had a body of an athlete, which was natural among jocks. He was perfect in every detail except for the scar on his cheek. It gave him that 'evil' or 'bad' vibe that girls –who have a taste for bad boys- and boys –he knows the world has gays now- would love. For Nico, who was not going to elaborate his sexuality, found the scar disturbing. Nonetheless, the way he was pushed to the ground and stared at was disturbing as well. You know what, this guy is disturbing. But that didn't give Nico the excuse to let this jock toy him around.

"Watch it, dickhead" Nico spat as he stood up, eyeing the taller jock. The blonde looked pissed, judging by his expression, but he quickly shook it off and smirked. And before the smaller boy knew it, he was shoved at the lockers, with the jock holding his collar and lifting him a few inches from the ground. It strangled him, yes, but as long as he doesn't touch the jacket, everything will be fine.

The jock leaned closer to Nico' s face, inches away from touching their noses. The dark-haired boy found that the blonde smelled of a mix of various floral, sweet and irritating girls' cologne/perfume. A small patch of skin was exposed because of his loose collar, revealing hickeys underneath. Nico sneaked a peek onto the blonde's lips and found a smudge of lip gloss. Nico fought the urge to blurt out and laugh that this guy must be on one of those make-out sessions with different girls. It was funny, in Nico's perspective, to find people like this man toying with girls, because he's a dick and a player, or better yet, was dumped by his one true love. Either way, Nico fought the urge to laugh or mock about it. Thank his ADHD about this. "Listen, _newbie_" The jock spoke. He had a deep masculine voice that girls –and boys- would really love, though the tone used was highly poisonous for the dark-haired boy's liking. "One, no one messes with me. Two, you were in the middle of the fucking hallway, staring into nothing. And three, don't cross paths with me again or you'll get your sorry ass kicked."

Nico tried his best not to punch this guy in the face or kick him where the sun doesn't shine. He could move his arms and legs, and he could easily give this guy a few injuries. But, when he thought about it, his plan wasn't a good idea considering the fact that he is a jock and he has jock friends to accompany him. The other students didn't seem much help and they just watched him while maintaining their distance. And he wasn't going to beg to release or forgive him of the violation of standing in the hallway. This guy pushed him first.

"Luke, stop please." One of his companions, who was just watching them with interest, walked onto the blond and patted his shoulder. "This is just a waste of time."

The jock named 'Luke' glared at Nico with hateful eyes before he dropped the boy on the ground, and walking away from him. Nico gave the jock a hateful look, indicating that this isn't over, which Luke seemed to feel mutual too. He signaled his companions to leave the dark-haired boy alone. The students around Nico relaxed and went to their own affairs peacefully. The jock that saved Nico's ass stayed, watching Luke leave. He glanced back at Nico and reached his hand out. Nico raised an eyebrow at him, but accepted the hand and shook it as an apologetic gesture.

"Sorry. He's in a bad mood today." The jock said. He looked 16 years old, with short and spiky sepia-brown locks. Complimenting those were his coppery-brown eyes, that sparkled with calmness and understanding, unlike Luke. He had a pale complexion, not as pale as Nico's –more like peachy or light caramel color. He had the similar athlete build, although, judging by his rough hands, he must be an archer (Like Michael Yew). "My name is Lee Fletcher. You new here?"

"New in New York" Nico replied. If Leo was here, he would totally comment how terrible that sounded. Lee Fiasco smiled, seemingly amused of Nico's answer.

"I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. Sorry for…you know…Luke Castellan. He's not usually like this –just had a rough day. Anyway, you might want to go by the Principal's office for some firsthand introductions of Goode High school. I would gladly accompany you, but" Lee looked at his jock gang, who were waiting him just a few feet away. Nico only nodded, before he smiled and mumbled: "Thanks." He left abruptly, without even sparing the boy a glance, even though he doesn't know where he was going.

"Wait!" Lee Feather shouted, earning looks from passersby. Nico could feel their eyes darting towards Lee then to him, wondering what connections they have to sink their gossip-craving mouths into. Nico glanced at the jock, who smiled at him. "Principal's office is at the third floor. It's a wooden twin door. You'll never miss it."

Nico nodded once again, before he smiled. He only hoped Lee found it as his way of saying thanks, because he was not going to talk nor attract more attention from these staring students, especially the dickhead Luke Castellan glaring at him feet away. He headed for the stairs, gripping the ends of his jacket just to ease his discomforts. He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, but he ignored it. He might not attend any orientation for new students or read the school handbook as required (And he was not going to spend his time in discomforts), but all he knows is: Teachers here are not lenient about students' usage of gadgets. It was a bummer, and back home, they were permitted to use their gadgets (semi-permit). He was not familiar with the sudden change in the environment, but he needs to adapt, in order to fit in. Nico climbed the stairs to reach the third floor, and some students were eyeing his jacket. Nico ignored it, but didn't say it didn't bother him. It was kind of rude and stupid to stare at it –as if it was a large squirrel hanging on his back- because there was nothing wrong with his aviator's jacket and he will flip out if aviator jackets are not allowed in this school.

He reached the principal's office –two French twin doors made of strong mahogany wood. The handle bars were colored gold, curved, and have symmetrical carvings all over. The door also has curvy markings as well, but not as detailed as the handle bars. There was no sign indicating that this was the Principal's Office, which made Nico suspicious of Lee Flakey statement and thought that it was a convenient hoax to embarrass him by going into some kind of fancy broom closet. Nonetheless, if he would embarrass himself and his father finds out about it then maybe they'll come back to Nevada. He took a deep breath before he softly knocked on the door and entered.

And Nico's distrust on Lee Faker turned into trust with Lee Fletcher. Actually, it was more of a _'He's not a jackass'_ kind of trust.

The walls were orange and sepia striped. The floor was made of a cream-colored and smooth type of wood, which must be pretty expensive. A huge leopard striped carpet occupied most of the space in the floor. Two leather couches stood against the walls and a glass table between them, with magazines under it. At the far north of the room was a large mahogany desk with papers and pens and other paperwork stuff on it. They were properly organized and neatly stacked. At the right of the desk was a 90's ping-pong table that was used as a table for soda cans. A fixed-in rack hung at the left wall, with trophies and other artifacts that indicated the achievements of the school placed in it. Not only that, photos and paintings of students hung on the right wall, and little gold plates had captions embedded in them, explaining what happened in that picture. His ADHD was kicking in –because of the walls. Damn you walls! - And almost did not notice that man doing paperwork on the mahogany desk.

He was a sophisticated looking man, with curly light-brown hair properly trimmed and neatly combed. There were gray streaks in his locks, but that only made him look wiser –because it made him look old. His dark-brown eyes shone with wisdom and understanding, and Nico felt that this guy might understand him –Might. He was pale, though it might be because of old age. He had a few wrinkles, mostly on his forehead and hands, but that didn't really bother anyone. He wore a velvet suit, a white polo and a blue neck tie. He couldn't really see his pants, just the waistline. The man looked at him with awe, examining him of any defects that might kick him out. Nico just stood there, didn't know what to do or what exact situation he is in.

"You must be Nico di Angelo, the last minute enrollee. Please, sit on one of the leather sofas. They're comfortable." The man instructed. Nico did what he was told, though he was a little queasy. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Di Angelo. My name is Chiron. I am the Principal of this school, and a teacher as well." Chiron said, smiling. " Now, since you have not attended one of our orientations, I will just say some important details and rules in our school."

Nico only nodded before Chiron, the principal, elaborated the rules and regulations as well as the expectations and objectives of Goode High school. In the middle of the explanation, Nico's attention seemed to drift into the walls and the ping-pong table, but he did try to focus on Chiron. Chiron didn't notice the adjusting focus of the dark-haired boy and continued the elaboration. Soon, Chiron was finished and Nico only understood the first half of Chiron's explanation. Chiron handed him his class schedule, and pointed out where these classes were located. Nico shook hands with the principal and said his thanks before prepared to leave.

"Oh! Mr. Di Angelo!"

Nico turned around and face the principal. The principal opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked he was hesitating, but regained his composure. Anything that Chiron might've said vanished. Instead, Chiron only smiled and bid him good luck in his first day in Goode High school.

* * *

So far, most of the classes were going through the introductory phase, wherein the teachers introduced themselves then instructed the students to introduce themselves, so he or she would've presented himself/herself to the entire class. Back home, they would write their introductions (e.g. Name, address, likes, dislikes,) in a paper and pass it to the teacher. Then, the teacher would introduce himself or herself to the class halfheartedly. The teacher would, then, say false promises and advices such as 'I'm always here for you' or 'We're supporting you in every step of the way' to the class to give them false assumptions that they would succeed in their academic studies, enroll in a good college, get the job they've always dreamed and lived a happy fucking life forever. These lies were more terrible than his father's sigh and scoff. It was so rude and unnecessary for the teachers to promise such things to students who are trying to work hard but always fails. And in the end, the teacher would say they were lacking something, but the students would say the teacher was never there to support them in the first place and they were trying so hard, but just couldn't pass.

Nico sighed. He was getting bored with these classes and wants to go home. To Nevada, not in the fancy hotel they were staying in.

"Mr. Di Angelo, would you please read the next paragraph please?" the English teacher, Mr. Paul Blofis, said, an English text book, Teacher's Edition resting in the palm of his hand. It was a really small book compared to theirs. Nico sighed quietly before he stood up, holding his book with both hands as he tried to focus on the words written on the book.

Apparently, Mr. Paul Blofis thought it was a good idea for the entire class to read a story of the summarized version of the 12 labors of Heracles as his introduction, in which Nico was supposed to read the 4th labor. The problem was, one: the texts were too small, and two: he couldn't focus at all. All the letters seemed to blur and dance in his vision, as a way of mocking his inability to read. He could feel the students' gaze burning through his skull and Mr. Paul Blofis' thoughts saying _'What is with this kid?' _He might be paranoid for thinking that, but it doesn't matter anyway. Everyone was waiting for him to read the next labor and they were expecting him to read as well as they can. They were already setting up their expectations on him, the expectations to a normal kid. The problem was, he wasn't normal. He has defects.

"It's on page 230 of the textbook" Mr. Paul Blofis said. His tone was gentle and encouraging, though, in Nico's ears he was demanding and expecting. Just like his father's.

Nico opened his mouth, but no words came. He could feel everyone's gaze burning through his very soul. He bit his lip and gripped his book. He desperately wanted to say 'I can't read', but everyone would just laugh at him because everyone knows he can read and there was no person in the school who can't read. Then, Nico would say he has birth defects and people would stare at him, wondering how he got enrolled here. Then, Chiron would tell his father that his boy was not qualified in this school, and his father would sigh and scoff it off, and then proceeded in the search for another school that Nico would surely belong to.

It was just too much. Everyone was pushing him to doing what he can't really do.

"Mr. di Angelo-"

"Fuck off!"

Nico wanted to take that back, but it was too late. He shouted at his teacher and accidentally dropped the textbook to his feet. Nico was forced to look at Mr. Blofis in the eye and all he could see was disappoint and crushed dreams for him. The students, too, were confused and shocked as he was, and he could tell from their gazes that he and they were not going to work out. Nico didn't have anything to say, really. He couldn't explain himself to the teacher because no one understands him. No one ever did and can. Mr. Blofis sighed and said: "After the last period, I'll be expecting to see you at the Principal's office."

Nico nodded before he sat down on his seat. He heard and noticed his classmates gossiping and staring at him, but later the class resumed once again as Mr. Paul Blofis called another student. He faded away in the scene as the class revolved in its affairs without him –and that just proved that the world was left better without him.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

Nico found himself in Chiron's office again, sitting on the same leather couch on the same spot where he sat when Chiron explained to him the regulations followed in this school. Mr. Paul Blofis was staring at him, his gaze following Nico's every twitch and movement, as if; observing and examining the boy. Chiron was nowhere to be found; presumably doing some Latin-teacher-of-10th-graders stuff as Mr. Paul Blofis said earlier. Nico was really hoping that the principal would finish whatever he was doing so they could get this over with, because his dad was waiting for him outside –hopefully. His father is always fashionably late, either because of work or research.

Pushing that thought aside, Nico focused more on playing with his fingers and swinging his legs, since he could not just sit down because of the ADHD. He could not peel his eyes away from his wriggling fingers because he can't look up to Mr. Paul Blofis' gaze. He could not move his body, except for his fingers and legs, because of the anxiety and paranoia he was feeling right about now. He might be paranoid to think that his English teacher hates him and wishes to suspend him and to think that his classmates loathed him because he couldn't read the 4th labor of Heracles. But, still, his paranoia was sometimes correct. He was paranoid to think that leaving Rachel and Leo alone in a trashed school bus would cause a huge scale fire, as Michael Yew told him, but 30 minutes after, the school bus was blazing and firefighters were trying to put out the fire. It might not be a huge scale fire, but it was close. And by that, Michael Yew believed that Nico's paranoia could be precognition accident signal, well, jokingly of course.

"Do you know Bianca di Angelo?" Mr. Paul Blofis suddenly asked. His tone didn't show any sign of annoyance or anger. Just a mellow tone like he uses when he teaches about literature. Even if the teacher wasn't showing any kind of negative emotion towards the student, Nico didn't look up, though, he only nodded.

"…I'm sorry. She was one of my best students" Mr. Paul Blofis said. Nico could hear all sincerity and pity in his voice, but he didn't like how this teacher would apologize for something that he has no fault to. It reminded him of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who was sorry for all that happened and was willing to help him. But, like that red-haired girl, Mr. Paul Blofis was a stranger –a person who would never ever understand what he was going through. A 'I'm sorry' will never lessen the pain he feels, nor would help him through it.

Before they return to the awkward silence, Chiron had burst through the door, surprisingly, in a wheel chair. Nico raised an eyebrow at this, but Chiron threw him a smile, indicating that this was a matter not to be ever talked to. He rolled his way towards his desk, staring intently at Mr. Paul Blofis, as if they were sharing something through their eye contact. When Chiron reached his desk, he took his notepad and pen from his drawer and smiled again at Nico. "So, care to tell what happened?" Chiron asked. Nico sighed. This was it. He was going to get expelled –either from disrespecting school officials or he was abnormal.

"…I didn't read Heracles' 4th labor and told Mr. Paul Blofis to fuck off" Nico murmured. He only received a moan and nod in response. He turned his sights on Mr. Paul Blofis, who looked sorry that he had to put Nico through all this. But, he had an image to keep, and he had to retain that by punishing anyone who disrespects him, even Nico. "And what do you want to do with him, Mr. Blofis?" Chiron asked.

"It's his first day of school, so I guess a weekend detention would be the most appropriate." The Literature teacher said. "And maybe a session with the guidance counselor."

Chiron, who was writing every detail in the notepad, nodded. He paused, looked at Nico and let out a small smile. "And care to elaborate, Mr. Di Angelo, why did you tell Mr. Blofis to, ahem, 'fuck off' "

Nico mumbled something under his breath which made Mr. Paul Blofis raise an eyebrow at him. Chiron tilted his head and cupped his ear, which meant that he didn't hear a word from the student. Nico sighed before he murmured "I got frustrated because I can't read the passage."

Mr. Paul Blofis' eyebrows furrowed. He looked at the principal, who was also surprised by the _believable _information. Before the two of them could ask, Nico cut them off. "I have ADHD and dyslexia." Nico explained. "I can read properly, mind you; however, the font of the texts was too small for me. If you won't believe me, check my medical records or ask my dad about it"

"Oh." The teacher gasped. "You should've told me." He let out a chuckle and patted Nico's shoulder "Hey, sorry about this. I-I'm surprised! I never thought that you have…"

Nico let out a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Blofis, though I should let Mr. Chiron talk to my dad about this. I'm sure he hasn't mentioned anything about my…abnormalities. Sorry, Mr. Blofis, that I'm not going to be as good as Bianca Di Angelo. May I leave now?"

The Literature teacher kept glancing back at Nico and Chiron, expecting the Principal to say something that would keep Nico from leaving, not from the office but from school. But, he could not read Chiron's expression, which looked grim and sullen. The principal nodded before Nico left the room. As Nico closed the doors, he heard his teacher asking if Chiron was going to kick the kid out of school or not. The Principal wasn't answering to indicate that Mr. Paul Blofis already knows the answer. Nico didn't care about that anymore.

* * *

According to his cellular phone, it was 4:45 pm and his father's car was nowhere in sight.

Nico sat at the main lobby, shuffling some text messages from his friends. They were filling his inbox and he doesn't have enough load balance to reply. Furthermore, he was searching for a text message from his father, to see if he would be fashionably late again because of work. After minutes of scrolling, Nico found it. He immediately opened the message. He squinted, just to keep his sights focused on the letters to keep them from dancing around in his screen. After a few seconds, he was able to decipher it.

'_I'm sorry son. I won't be able to pick you up from 4 –work calls and you should understand by now that I have to sacrifice so many things to keep this job, in order to make a living. My publisher will pick you up._

_From your loving father, Hades.'_

Nico rolled his eyes. Of course! His father was so loving enough to break his promise, trust a co-worker and stranger (in Nico's eyes) to pick him up from school and safely escort him home –and by home, he meant an unnecessary and expensive suite. Wow, just wow. This surpasses everything his father had done in the _'You've got to be fucking kidding me'_ meter. And by the looks of it, there was no publisher's car in the parking lot, just teacher's cars parked in the teacher's parking space. The sun was setting beautifully, glowing with orange beams that light up the luminous sky.

So, what will Nico do? Nothing really. Just let his unconsciousness control his bodily functions.

As he was strolling in the corridors with no apparent destination, he kept looking back at his phone. There were, in total, 30 messages, from yesterday. Everything, except for one, was from the gang back home. The other one was from his mom. He felt guilty for not acknowledging it, but he was not in the mood to read whatever his mother had sent him. It was really depressing to not belong. But what can he do about it? He was never one of them –he was never like his sister. He wasn't the cool, smart and fun-loving sister. He was the opposite of that. He always finds it irritating when he's parents tell him he was normal too, but deep down, they know he isn't. They always try to push him into a normal society, but in the end, it never worked out. In the end, he would run away. He would abandon everything and just go back into his dark little hole. He would just run away, run away from every problem he can't fix or people who he can't be with. He would come back to his constant, depressing life and never turn back.

Nico opened one of Leo's messages from yesterday. His phone always arranged his messages from the latest messages to the newest, so whenever he was scrolling through his inbox, he would read the older messages down to the new ones. It was handy, for Nico.

_From: Leo Valdez  
Yesterday, 11:02 am  
'Dude wat da fuck. U left without saying gudbye. Wats the matter with u?_

_From: RED  
Yesterday, 12:56 pm  
'Is it because of something we did? I'm sorry, Nico, I really am. Please, lets just talk'_

_From: Leo Valdez,  
Yesterday, 2:09 pm  
'Luk man, I know its hard but still. It doesnt give u the right to ignore us. We're ur friends. Lets have a hearty conversation like we always do.'_

_From Michael Yew  
Yesterday, 6:04 pm  
'Would u please stop ignoring us! Why r u always pushing away the people who are helping you! What the fuck man! Are you taking us for granted!?_

_From: RED  
Yesterday, 7:31 pm  
'I'm sorry Nico. Really I am. Just…talk to me okay._

_From: Leo Valdez  
Yesterday, 8:23 pm  
'What the hell, Nico. Just fuck. Why aren't u answering us. Why are u always like this. Don't u ignore us._

_From: Leo Valdez  
Yesterday, 8:30 pm  
'U know what. I have enough with this shit Nico. Rachel's fucking depressed okay. U know how she is. And this is all ur fault. What da hell's the matter with u. _

_From Michael Yew  
Yesterday, 9:06 pm  
'Nico. I'll be honest with you. Whatever you are upset right now, you know it's not our fault. It was never Rachel's nor mine, nor Leo's. So stop being a dick and stop being angry with us. Don't deny it. Ur always targeting ur anger at us. Didn't we say we were sorry for what had happened? I know sorry won't bring her back, but this doesnt give u the right to make us feel like shit or blame us with ur goddamn problems that we have no clue about because u aren't talking o us about it. Don't take us for granted Nico._

_From Michael Yew  
Yesterday, 9:07 pm  
'I am sick and tired of your bullshit Nico. If you're taking us granted, well, good bye to you, fuckass. This friendship is over.'_

_From: RED  
Yesterday, 10: 49 pm  
'Whatever Michael had said, please don't talk it seriously. He's just mad. Give him time._

_From: Leo Valdez  
Yesterday, 10:50 pm  
'U know wat man. Maybe Michael's right. U are a dick. Im going to stop caring becoz u never cared for us. Ur always like dis, Nico. Ur always running away. Ur pushing those who care about u. U make them feel shit and worthless. U make them guilty for everything that u did wrong. And Im sick of it. If ur just going to push me, or abandon me, or make me feel like a total dickhead for ur own mistakes, then sayonara motherfucker. U don't deserve Rachel's kindness as a matter of fact. U don't deserve anyone!'_

"Damn you all!" Nico shouted. Even though he skipped the other messages, it didn't make him feel less shitty about himself. Or angry at them. Okay, so maybe he is taking them for granted or maybe he was never the best friend in the whole world, or maybe his definition of friend was never like theirs, but that doesn't give them any right to cut off their ties with one another and keep bashing him with insults. They don't know what kind of things he was going through. They don't know anything about him. They would never understand him. They always acting like Nico's gods, always knowing what's best for him, what he should not do, and what he should do for them. It was really sick. For a couple of _friends_ who caught him into their troubles, help him in the way they know that's helpful without Nico's consent, and intruding into his own private life and told Bianca was a dick when they were the ones who caused her death, playing Nico's gods was the last straw.

He opened the reply message box and began to think of every single insult and blames he could throw at them. But, he could not move his fingers. Heck, after realizing the horrible truth that he couldn't type a reply to them, he stopped thinking. He began to wonder why he couldn't fight back. There was just an urge to delete all the messages and pretended that he never had those three as friends.

_You're always pushing away. _No, not this again.

_You're always running away. _Shit. Nico was having another episode.

_Are you afraid that they'll hurt you? Or are you afraid that when you call for help, they won't see you? _ I was never afraid. I just don't like people intruding my space. Nico thought.

_Are you afraid to be treated as insignificant as dust, or are you afraid that because of who you are, you'll be swept away to person after person, just to pass the responsibility of taking care of you? _ I was never afraid of being insignificant, nor was I ever been passed on like I was a heavy burden on their shoulders.

_That's what our parents did Nico. They tried to pass you to others. _They were just busy. They can't take care of me forever.

_Your friends were trying to help you. _I'd say they're just meddling. _But if they would see the real you, they will end up hurting you._

_You're afraid to be left alone, but there's not much of a choice, is there? _I have always been alone, and I have other choices to begin with. I just never considered taking them.

_You're always in denial, Nico. _I am not. _Even before I died._

_I'll always be your light Nico. I'll always be the one who can help you. And nothing will ever change that._

"FUCK YOU ALL!" Nico shouted, gripping his phone tightly as if it was the one who pissed him off. "I don't need anyone or anything! Just leave me alone!" He turned around, and without thinking, threw his phone. Nico was expecting more of a 'crunch' or 'crash' sound and the gears and shards of his phone littered in the hallway, but all he heard was a 'Thud' and someone groaning in pain. The dark-haired boy started praying to whatever god listening to him that he did not just hit someone, even though, the poor victim was practically rubbing his head while, luckily, clutching the foreign object –his phone- that hit him. His friend, perhaps, was asking if he was alright and, thankfully, ignoring the presence of his friend's oppressor.

The victim was perhaps a senior, maybe a year or two older than him. He had a soft tan complexion, more of a swimmer kind, with no tan lines present. He had soft-looking and messy black locks, and even though it was messy and dripping wet, it suited him –heck it made him look hot! He had the most beautiful aquamarine eyes Nico has ever seen –they look blue and green, just like the sea. Other than that, he had a sweet athletic and lean toned body, which suited him just right. And what's the best part? The boy was only wearing blue swimming trunks and a black bead necklace. (Plus, he was dripping wet). Nico could feel his face heat up.

"Shit." The boy muttered. He had a deep yet mellow voice, which, in Nico's opinion could be church choir material. The green-eyed male eyed the foreign object –Nico's phone- in his hands and looked at the source of the said object. His beautiful eyes landed on Nico's brown ones. The sea-eyed male looked shock –either because his assailant was standing right there or he, a skinny gloomy-looking boy, dared to hit his beautiful head with a phone. Whatever it was, his friend did not look happy.

The sea-eyed's companion was a foot taller than him. He had a pale complexion, though; he has tan lines on his arms and legs. He had a curly, messy bright auburn hair, but his fringe and some ends of his hair were seen under that wool cap on his head. He had jade green eyes that reminded Nico of the rainforests he seen on TV. He had a small goatee on his pointy chin, which made him kind of attractive. Despite having skinny limbs, Nico could see some muscles bulging, especially on the legs. He was wearing a green shirt with a panda print saying 'Save the forest' and orange track shorts that just stopped below his knees. He had a stop watch and a bead necklace hanging on his neck.

The goatee male looked at him with such disdain, it made Nico squirm. His expression towards him was practically screaming '_What's wrong with you?'_. Supporting his friend who just got hit without any notice, he stood firm, looked at Nico right in the eye and said "What the hell did you do that for? You could've had hit him in the eye or nose or something!". It made Nico feel shittier about himself. The dark-haired boy wanted to apologize, but he couldn't utter a word. The goatee male kept talking, but all Nico could care was how the older looked at him. It reminded him of how the others looked at him, and their expressions were saying '_What's wrong with you' _or _'What happened to you' _or '_What's the matter with this kid'_. Those stares, gazes and expressions made Nico feel disgusted about himself. What was wrong with him? What happened to him that made him like this? What was his fault to be looked upon like this? Suddenly, Nico forgot how to breathe.

"-Seriously, why would you hit a dude with a cellphone! These things can hurt someone you know! And-"

"Grover, that's enough. I'm fine really. And you're scaring him."

"Come one, the dude hit you with a cellphone!"

The sea-eyed teen just rolled his eyes and smiled at his assailant. He wasn't really hurt, and he wasn't angry about it either. Accidents happen from time to time, and the sea-eyed teen knows that it was accident. He reached his hand towards the dark-haired boy, but the younger scooted away from him. Looking more closely, the boy was looking at Grover with eyes wide with fear. He could see the boy was really sorry for what he had done and was practically terrified of the consequences with his actions –or maybe he was terrified with Grover. The boy was starting to shiver, and he could see that the boy had trouble breathing. The sea-eyed male was going to ask if the boy was alright when the younger sprinted away from the scene, leaving his phone in the clutches of a stranger.

"That's what I call a hit and run"

The sea-eyed male hit his friend with his elbow for making such a joke. Looking at the phone in his hands, he knows he'll meet that boy again –because he has to return the phone else he's stealing. And he is not going to be like the Stoll brothers.

**OOOOoooOOOO**

Nico couldn't think straight after witnessing _that._ He was terrified of those cruel, judgmental gaze and the harsh labels set upon him. Those were the gazes of the people who looked down on him, who pitied him, who resent him, who see him as a heavy burden. Bianca was right. He is a dust; he is something so insignificant that he was just passed on to other people to pass on the burden. No one will help, no one will understand, and everyone will soon abandon him. He was nothing more than a spiteful dirt that would be wiped off on the surface of the planet. After accepting those facts and reminiscing the judgments of those people, Nico couldn't bear to look at the mirror anymore.

He ran away to any destination but there. He had pushed away the people who cared for him and the beautiful future that was laid upon by this school. He ran away from the things he can't deal or solve, because he was afraid to fail or get hurt.

_You ran away. You pushed them away_. _I guessed what you did have led you astray._

From Nico's blurry vision, he could see the exit. Wide open doors and the beams of the dying sun lighting the exit. It was as if heaven was pointing out the direction in which he should partake.

_You're a coward. But that's why I'm here._

From the tears that swelled up in Nico's eyes, making his vision more blurry than before, he could make out Bianca's image, glowing under the dying sunlight. She was right there, smiling and breathing. Her arms open to embrace his brother. Nico just ran faster.

_I will always be your light. I will be the only one who can understand you. _

Nico reached his hand, trying to grasp his sisters arms. "Bianca!" he called out.

And then it hit him.

_No matter what happens. I'll be the one who can see you._

Literally.

_No matter what happens, you'll end up running back to your little dark hole, where you belong._

* * *

**_So, what do you think? Percy showed up~ :) Anyway, next time, I'll be focusing on Nico's issues and problems. I gave an insight about it in this chapter. It's not only about his delusional image of Bianca, it goes deeper than that. Anyway, please review~_**

**_Translations (Google Translate):  
_**

**_[1] Get that?  
[2] I am married with two children! I have my own family now, and you should find one too!  
[3] For the love of God, Persephone, do not you understand? We are divorced! You put an end to our bond matrimonial front of everyone, in front of the priest who married us, in front of God! And do you think I could fix the mess you've done? No! I can not! I have my life and I can not throw it away again like I did before for you!  
[4] Goodbye!_**


End file.
